The 32nd edition of the Premier League, widely regarded as the strongest league in world football, gets underway on Friday when Manchester United play host to Fulham at Old Trafford.
Strikers will tell you that goals win you games, and whether you are battling for the title, vying for a top-four finish, or fighting for your life at the wrong end of the table, every team needs a goalscorer who can put the ball into the back of the net on a consistent basis.
One of the best around in the modern era at exactly that is Manchester City's leading marksman Erling Haaland, who won his second successive Golden Boot award last season after scoring 27 goals in 31 Premier League appearances - at least five more than his nearest challengers.
After netting a record-breaking 36 times in his debut campaign at Man City, Haaland's goals in 2023-24 proved crucial once again for a Citizens side who pipped rivals Arsenal to win an unprecedented fourth Premier League title in a row.
So can anyone stop Haaland from winning yet another Premier League Golden Boot award? Well, history suggest that the Norwegian goal machine could be dethroned from the summit of the goalscoring charts in the English top flight.
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Haaland must join the elite to make history
Since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, only two players have ever won the Golden Boot award in three consecutive seasons. The first was Alan Shearer between 1994-94 and 1996-97 (representing both Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United), before Arsenal icon Thierry Henry claimed three awards in a row in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06.
The fact that only two players - one of whom (Shearer) is the Premier League's all-time record goalscorer and the other (Henry) is regarded by many as the best-ever player to grace the Premier League - have ever achieved three in a row shows not only how difficult this is to accomplish, but also demonstrates the calibre of player who is capable of achieving such an impressive feat.
In addition, only Henry and ex-Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has ever retained the Golden Boot by scoring more goals than a previous season, again proving how challenging it has been for players to build on their success and elevate their game to a new level, considering the fierce competition that they are up against year-on-year.
Many will say that Haaland certainly has the potential to join the elite; the 24-year-old has already ripped up the record books wherever he has been in his relatively fledgling career, and he is deservedly ranked as the bookmakers' favourites to win the 2024-25 Premier League Golden Boot.
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Indeed, it is difficult to back against a prolific striker, playing for the reigning champions, who has netted a staggering 63 goals in 66 Premier League games, but if there is one thing that will give Haaland's rivals hope in the race for the Golden Boot, it is his injury record.
Haaland suffered with some niggling injuries in the early years of his career at Molde and Red Bull Salzburg, and across his two seasons at previous club Borussia Dortmund, the Scandinavian missed a total of 26 games due to injury.
The striker missed only six matches through injury in his record-breaking debut campaign at Man City, but he was sidelined for almost two months last season with a bone stress reaction in his foot, while he has also suffered with a niggling muscle issue this summer in pre-season.
Haaland missed seven Premier League games last season and proved that he does not need to play every minute of the campaign to come out on top in the Golden Boot race, but retaining the individual prize may be a tall order for the striker this term if he endures another lengthy spell in the treatment room, especially in a league that is arguably getting stronger with more teams and players scoring goals in attack-minded systems.
In 2022, Haaland said injuries "only make me more hungry for success" and he will undoubtedly back himself to thrive in front of goal once again this term, but there are a number of other talented attackers in the Premier League who will fancy their chances of claiming the Golden Boot.
Who could rival Haaland for PL Golden Boot in 24-25?
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One of those is Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, a three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2021-22 who remains a key part of the Reds' first-team plans going forward under new head coach Arne Slot.
The 'Egyptian King' has remarkably been Liverpool's top scorer in each of the last seven seasons, and although he is now 32 and netted only 13 non-penalty goals last season (18 with penalties in the Premier League), the forward has looked sharp in pre-season and is still a reliable source for goals.
It is fair to say that Salah's Liverpool teammate Darwin Nunez is the Premier League's enigma in the attacking department, but if the explosive striker can put aside the inconsistencies of last season and establish himself as the focal point in Slot's system, he may have the potential to battle for this year's Golden Boot.
The Uruguayan won the top scorer award in the Portuguese Primeira Liga with Benfica (26 goals), but since his club-record £85m transfer to Liverpool, he has found the net 20 times in the English top flight across two seasons at Anfield.
Could one of Haaland's Man City teammates rival him for the Golden Boot? If any are to do that, then it is most likely to be Phil Foden, the 2023-24 Premier League Player of the Year who enjoyed a career-best scoring season, netting 19 top-flight goals.
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Saka, Palmer to rival Haaland for Golden Boot?
As they did in the previous two campaigns, Arsenal are seemingly the most well-equipped team to challenge Man City for the title, and one player who has been an integral part of their recent rise towards the summit has been Bukayo Saka.
The 22-year-old winger has been the Gunners' top scorer in the last three seasons, netting 16 Premier League goals in 2023-24, and along with both Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, the England star is expected to be relied upon to both score and create goals for Mikel Arteta's side this term.
Another Englishman who must be considered in the race for the Golden Boot is the man who came closest to pipping Haaland in last season's race - Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer.
The 21-year-old wasted little time in establishing himself as a star player at Stamford Bridge last season - scoring 22 Premier League goals from midfield, including nine penalties - and while it remains to be seen exactly how he will be deployed in Enzo Maresca's system, the 'Wythenshawe Wizard' will back himself to rediscover his prolific form in 2024-25.
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Isak, Watkins, Solanke in Golden Boot frame?
Elsewhere, Alexander Isak was one of only three players - along with Haaland and Palmer - who surpassed the 20-goal mark in the Premier League last season, netting 21 times in total for Newcastle United.
Eddie Howe has said that Isak "has got the talent and ability" to challenge for the Golden Boot this term, although he has acknowledged that the Swede will be "competing against all the elite strikers" in the league.
One of those who has recently placed himself into that elite category is Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins, another contender for the 2024-25 Golden Boot after netting 19 times in the top-flight last season as well as claiming the Playmaker Award with 13 assists; only Palmer (33) was involved in more Premier League goals than Watkins (32) last season.
Another name in the frame could be Tottenham's club-record signing Dominic Solanke, who has moved to North London for a reported £65m after scoring 19 Premier League goals for Bournemouth last season, while his new teammate Son Heung-min - a Golden Boot winner from 2021-22 - can also be considered a contender this term.
